1. Field of the Invention
My invention relates to a mason's guide which is utilized to provide means whereby masonry building units such as bricks, cement blocks, etc., may be aligned when they are being laid by a mason. Specifically, the invention is concerned with a mason's guide which may be arranged so that it may be secured to masonry building units for the attachment of an aligning cord thereto. More particularly, the invention relates to an adjustable means for clamping the mason's guide to masonry units and to a means for accurately positioning said aligning cord. Even further, the invention provides for an improved means for gripping the masonry units and means for routing an aligning cord around an obstruction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mason's guides have heretofore been provided and my invention relates to an improvement in such guides. The pertinent prior art includes my U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,089, which patent is incorporated by reference in this disclosure. Other prior art is cited or other pertinent prior art is dicussed in my said prior U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,089.
One disadvantage of the prior art is that there is not provided on the mason's guide a surface which readily grips the masonry units.
Another disadvantage of the prior art is that there is not provided a means for guiding an aligning cord around obstacles at positions between the attached ends of the cord. My guide can also be used on a greater variety of masonry units. A typical example of the prior art is Riley U.S. Pat. No. 2,030,539. The device in Riley has a limited adjustability as compared to my improved guide. For use on bricks where there are holes in the brick Riley does not have the ability that my improved guide has to grip the bricks. Riley's device could not be used to anchor an aligning cord.
The ability of the guide of my invention to position an aligning cord accurately by means of a neoprene sleeve represents an improvement in my invention found in Huston U.S. Pat. No. 3,698,089. In addition the neoprene sleeve provides a superior surface for allowing the mason's guide to grip a masonry unit. The use of a collared thumb screw in conjunction with the neoprene sleeve also greatly improves the simplicity of the adjustable fingers.